June 27, 2014

Brady Games has announced it will be publishing the next official Tomb Raider novel, Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals, October 20, 2014. The book is already available for pre-order on Amazon.comand Amazon.co.uk.

Like the current Tomb Raider comic book series, the events in the novel have been plotted in consultation with the game developers and take place between the end of TOMB RAIDER (2013) and the start of the upcoming Rise of the Tomb Raider. Brady Games' marketing blurb reveals few details, but it's clear that Lara is still struggling with her experiences in the Dragon's Triangle.

"Haunted by what she was forced to endure in order to survive her first adventure, Lara Croft wants only to put her horrifying ordeal on Yamatai island behind her. Her modest wish shatters as she's plunged into a frantic race to save her best friend Sam from a toxic overdose. Desperate for a remedy, Lara searches for anything that could help Sam. A wisp of hope arising from a myth gives Lara purpose: the story of an ancient and mysterious artifact that could heal her dying friend, and possibly help explain the supernatural events she witnessed on Yamatai.

"However, Lara is not alone in her pursuit of the treasure. A nefarious magnate, a shadow society, and lethal henchmen will stop at nothing to exploit the powerful relic for their own ends. The hunt drives Lara across the globe, through a twisted web of conspiracy, suspicious contacts, and life-or-death intrigue, as she seeks salvation for her friend and the truth behind the legendary talisman."

The Ten Thousand Immortals is written by Dan Abnett and Nik Vincent, British authors who have both worked on successful game and movie tie-ins. The two previously teamed up on Fiefdom: A Kingdom Novel.

The last official Tomb Raider novels were published during the Core Design era. In The Amulet of Power(2003) by Mike Resnick relates the events that took place between The Last Revelation and The Angel of Darkness, which were never told in game format.
In James Alan Gardner's The Man of Bronze(2004), Lara is on the hunt for the missing parts of a mysterious mechanical man, thousands of years old, with uncanny powers. The Lost Cult(2004) by E. E. Knight focuses on Lara's entanglement with a sinister cult in the cloud forests of eastern Peru. As far as I know, all are out of print, but copies are still available on sites like Amazon.comand Amazon.co.uk.

Are you looking forward to The Ten Thousand Immortals ? Have you read any of the other novels? Are you excited for more Tomb Raider or do you just want the next game already? Leave a comment below, tweet me, or drop me a message on Facebook. I'd love to know what you think.

June 9, 2014

It's official! We've all known for a while that a Tomb Raider sequel is in development, but today at E3 fans saw their first glimpse. Check out the launch trailer for Rise of the Tomb Raider below and let me know what you think...and what you'll be doing to pass the time between now and Christmas 2015. ;)

Meanwhile, while we were all hyperventilating over the 'Rise' announcement, Crystal Dynamics placed the cherry on top of the Tomb Raider sundae with a brief reveal of Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, a solo/4-player co-op Guardian of Light sequel coming soon to PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

In my perfect world, "Rise of the Tomb Raider" is a tagline for the next Tomb Raider, similar to TR 2013's "A Survivor is Born," and Temple of Osiris is a sequel to Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. How about you? Care to help fuel the rumor mill? What would you like to see in the days to come? Leave a comment below.

Recently the Tomb Raider Groupies community on DeviantArt held a Tomb Raider Memories competition, in which they asked fans to create artwork based on their personal feelings of nostalgia about the series. There were three thematic categories: Traps and Danger, Exploration and Discovery, and Puzzles.

I'm proud to congratulate the winners and feature their action-packed artwork here. I encourage you all to visit the contest page to leave comments for the artists, check out the other entries, and peruse all the fantastic artwork the group has created.

First Place - Poised for the Strike
by ArtisticAdventures

Click to visit the artist's page for more information and larger image.

Second Place - Battle in The Spider Tomb by JhoCorrea

Click to visit the artist's page for more information and larger image.

Third Place - Lara Croft Illustration by amherman

Click to visit the artist's page for more information and larger image.

June 5, 2014

Lara Croft: Reflections, the mobile card battle game announced last year, has been cancelled before its worldwide launch. The game premiered in the Australia-New Zealand iTunes Store and ran for just a few months. Today developer RenRen Games said it will no longer be supporting the game as of August 4th.

If you had a chance to play it, I'd be interested to hear your review. I'm also curious how Tomb Raider fans feel about periperhal titles like this card game, the Tomb Raider video slots, and even arcade games like Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. Is more Lara always a good thing, or should the developers focus on making triple-A titles and forget about the side projects?

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